1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of bumper devices for vehicles, and more particularly to a bumper which is movably attached to the rear of a truck or similar vehicle to facilitate access to a tire and/or other equipment mounted behind the bumper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various bumper designs have been proposed in the prior art to accommodate a variety of purposes and functions. Typical bumpers are designed to absorb impact against the front or rear of the vehicle, and some bumpers have recently been designed to move against a resisting force to minimize damage to the vehicle upon such impact.
A shiftable bumper for mounting to the rear of a truck is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,654, issued to Kannegieter on Oct. 13, 1970. The Kannegieter patent shows a bumper pivotally mounted to the truck frame and movable between a horizontal, up position and a vertical, down position. The bumper includes latch assemblies including rearwardly projecting arms pivotally secured to the bumper and pivotally carrying latches cooperable with a pin to hold the bumper in the up position. A spring biases the arm upwardly and in engagement with a stop and holds the latch in the lock position, until a release lever is actuated to permit movement of the bumper to the down position. A spare tire is mounted in a carrier attached to the truck frame forwardly of the bumper, such that the tire is accessible when the bumper is in the down position.
In contrast to the present invention, the Kannegieter device is relatively complex, expensive, not readily adaptable to various truck designs, and includes several components which may fail or become inoperable due to wear and exposure. The present invention includes a bumper which is easily manipulated and simply mounted to the truck frame to be easily mounted to various truck configurations, with a minimum of cost and failure.
Various other movable bumpers are also disclosed in the prior art. In the Koenig patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,695 issued on Mar. 18, 1975, there is disclosed a folding truck bumper attached to underside of the rear of a vehicle. The Koenig device includes a bumper extending downwardly on a support pivotally attached to the truck frame, and having a forward and upward position as well. A second, supporting member is pivotally attached to the truck frame forward of the bumper and includes holes positioned to align with a hole in a member attached to the bumper, such that connection of one of the two holes with the supporting member with the bumper will lock the bumper in one or the other of the bumper positions. Movable bumper designs of less interest are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,005,657, issued to Walker on Oct. 24, 1961; 1,779,661, issued to Cleland on Oct. 28, 1930; 1,515,111, issued to Heil et al. on Nov. 11, 1924; and, 1,447,387, issued to Heil et al. on Mar. 6, 1923.